\multiputlist

SYNOPSIS:
\multiputlist(x,y)(Δx,Δy)[tbrl]{item1,item2,item3,...,itemN}

This command is a variation of the regular L^ATEX command \multiput. The \multiput command permits one to put the same object at regularly spaced coordinates. Often one wishes to put different objects at coordinates that have regular increments – \multiputlist command can be used in those cases. This command enables one to specify a collection of objects with a single command thus simplifying the task of calculating coordinates. All those objects may also be plotted separately using \put commands, but any future revision of those coordinates may involve lot of manual work. This command also encourages certain regularity and symmetry in laying out various objects in a picture.

In the \multiputlist, as the coordinates are incremented, the objects to be put are picked up from the list of items, i.e., first item in first position, second item in second position, and so on. For example, numbers along the X-axis in a graph may be plotted by simply specifying:
\multiputlist(0,0)(10,0){1.00,1.25,1.50,1.75,2.00}
This is almost equivalent to the sequence:

\put(0,0){1.00}
\put(10,0){1.25}
\put(20,0){1.50}
\put(30,0){1.75}
\put(40,0){2.00}

The difference is that each item is put in a \makebox(0,0)[tbrl]{...} kind of construction which allows the specification of the reference point of the box containing the item. The [tbrl] is optional and its absence makes the item centered at the specified coordinate. Note that \put command does not have such an option.

The objects in the list can be virtually anything including any \makebox, \framebox, math characters, etc. This command can be usefully employed in a situation where a variety of objects are to be put at coordinates that have a regular increment along the x-axis and the y-axis.

Few comments about \multiputlist command:

• Individual items have to be grouped in {} if they contain ``,''s.

• In the list of items, blanks are not ignored (of course, consecutive blanks are coalesced into one, as always). For a list of items longer than a line of input, put a % at the end in order to nullify the newline if a blank is not intended to be a part of the item.

• Specifying individual items in a list format provides a powerful mechanism for specifying a variety of objects in a single command. Moreover, often real numbers need to be plotted and it is nontrivial to generate real numbers or otherwise handle them in TEX; they need to be explicitly specified as objects in the desired format. The \multiputlist command somewhat simplifies such a task.

• The implementation of \multiputlist uses two macros derived from the ones given in the TEXbook, namely, \lop and \lopoff for list-manipulation.